Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
These Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes combine a doctored-up cake mix with plenty of made-from-scratch cane frosting - absolutely delicious!
Servings: 18 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 box Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Super Moist 15.25 oz.
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
For the Candy Cane Buttercream
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature 2 sticks
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ cup crushed candy canes
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, pour in the cake mix and add the chocolate chips. Mix until the chocolate chips are covered with the cake mix.
- Add the eggs, milk, water, oil, and peppermint extract. Mix with a hand mixer until all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Using a cookie scoop or another method, fill your cupcake liners to 3/4-full.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes, then remove them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the buttercream:
- In a large mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, cream the butter.
- Add the powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint extract. Mix until well combined.
- Add in the crushed candy cane pieces and mix until the pieces are evenly spread throughout the mixture.
- Once your cupcakes are completely cool, pipe the buttercream over the tops of the cupcakes.
Notes
- *NOTE: I do not follow the ingredients from the box to make the cake; I made some changes.
- If you are planning on pipping the buttercream, make sure you have all small pieces that can go through a piping tip or use a wide tip.
- If you do not have a piping bag or tip, you can use a zip-top bag and cut one corner. You can also spread the frosting with a butter knife or offset spatula.
- If the cupcakes are not completely cool when you're done making the frosting, put the buttercream into an airtight container until ready to use. If you put the buttercream in the fridge overnight, you may need to leave the container on the counter for 10 or so minutes to make it easier to frost your cupcakes.
- You can keep the cupcakes for up to 1 week in the fridge.
- The buttercream can be made the day prior and kept up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- If your frosting is too hard from being cold, I would recommend letting it come up to room temperature and not using the microwave.
- You can freeze the cupcakes for up to 6 weeks in a plastic bag. I like to freeze them for 30 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a plastic bag and take as much air out as possible.
- I would not recommend freezing the cupcakes once they are frosted.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 418kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 295mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 375IU | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1mg
